Two Against The Universe: To Feel Everything
by caneeljoy
Summary: Our two heroines are now members of an empathic alien race, given their purpose by the Counsel: to find the Doctor and rid him of his pain. But could there be another mission in this life for them?
1. Chapter 1

Suddenly, I am. My feet touch ground, my lungs breathe air. I adjust to my body slightly as things slow down, and I hear my voice in my head, telling me my story.

 _My name is Anima, which roughly translates to "all emotion" or "soul". I am considered relatively young to my species… twelve or thirteen in Earth years._ I wonder why I always translate things to Earth years. Not like that matters. What even is Earth? I have too many questions, but I can't seem to hang onto a single one.

 _I am a member of a species little-known throughout the universe. Our name does not have an English translation, but a close translation is Chinese "Gǎnjué Yīqiè" which means "to feel everything."_

 _We closely resemble humans physically, with the differences being that we function on less hormones, and have larger brains and use more brainpower. We are generally taller than the average human, with very fair skin and light hair. Our gift is empathy: we can feel the emotions of others. The powerful of our kind can influence and even channel the emotion out of a being. Our purpose, according to the Counsel, is to relieve the universe of its worst pain. If a child is deemed ready by the Counsel, a parent will send their child away with no qualms, because it is their duty as a citizen. Sometimes I wonder about the Counsel. Why would the leaders of a people of emotion ask a parent to do something so cold? Maybe that is why it is always the children who are sent off. Maybe the adults are losing their power._

 _After the work of the person (usually child) is over, they are usually exiled, having served their purpose._

 _Another mark of our race is our imprint function. When we are young we imprint on a person close to us, and we are bound for life. Soon after the birth of my sister, Electra, I imprinted on her, and she then imprinted on me. My parents named her Electra after the fiery suns, because just as she was born the suns burst above the horizon, and everything sparkled with dew. She is around seven or eight in Earth years._

 _I never knew my father, and I've learned never to ask about him. My mother's name is Aracelia, which means "altar of heaven," named that because the Prophet proclaimed at her birth that she would bear two children who would become the strongest of our race, destined to heal the unhealable, cleanse the uncleansable… and generally bring light and happiness to people in darkness. She became the altar my people worshipped as she bore two children: me and Electra. Electra and I were allowed to stay with our mother up until now, because the Counsel was searching for the person in need of the most help._

 _When Electra and I were young, the Counsel tested us using simple methods often used by our kind, like physical touching of people and animals. They had never seen any powers like mine. I had the capacity for so much more emotion than the strongest of our kind, but in turn, I was much more sensitive to it and I often couldn't control my powers They found Electra's function to be balance: if she held my hand, I was able to regain control. However, life is almost constantly a misery for me because I can feel all the emotions, good and bad, of everyone around me. Oftentimes it is completely overwhelming. I also get images in my head, and my abilities often verge on telepathy. I see memories, but only if there is a very strong emotion linked to them._

 _Sometimes even when I hear a voice, or feel a touch, I can tell the emotions of the person behind it._

 _When a Gǎnjué Yīqiè takes emotion, we store it inside of us, somewhere in our chest area. There it stays, until we are able to release it. Often, it is not released on purpose but in an accidental burst of power. We have discovered a process to extract it, but it hurts._

 _This morning, just before suns-up, my mother woke me and Electra. She brought us from our small house to the temple of the Counsel, where we all go to worship our god. She left us with nary a tear in her eye. Now, I am standing with Electra in front of the four people that make up the Counsel, waiting for them to seal our fates for good._ A slow sense of dread creeps over me as I snap to attention.

The room is massive. The ceiling is hundreds of feet above my head. On my right, Electra is standing tall, even though she is scared. Her hair is in blonde pigtails brushing her shoulders, tied with a deep blue ribbon printed with silly-looking stars. She is nervously fiddling with her left ribbon. Her nightgown is the same dark blue, trimmed with white frills. She looks adorable.

I know what I look like, in my head, but I look down nonetheless. My hair, which is lighter than Electra's, cascades down my shoulders and almost to my elbows. I wear a white shift, which ruffles in the small breeze blowing through the room. I wonder where the wind comes from.

"Anima. Are we straining your attention?" comes a voice. Not in my head, but echoing from in front of me. A woman. She looks impatient.

"No, my lady," I reply, blinking my blue eyes (even though the answer is yes).

"After a long search, we have found a match for your exceptional talents," the man in the middle says. When you sit in the middle, you are the leader of the Counsel.

I'm scared, comes a voice in my head. Not my own. Higher in pitch. I remember: imprinteds can share a mind, when they want to. We can talk without talking, say things without saying. I think of fond memories of shared thoughts and giggles. Nice. I wish it was like that right now. Now we stand, awaiting an uncertain future. What gives them the right…

 _It's all going to be alright,_ I lie telepathically.

"He is a man, but not always," the man in the middle says. "He changes his face."

"How?" Electra's hand snakes into mine as she speaks.

"All of his kind are dead," the man says. "His kind, the Time Lords, fought with the Daleks in the Time War, and this man ended the war."

I remember this, in one of the history lessons when I took lessons from Aracelia. The Time War, and the last man standing.

"The Doctor?"

"Yes, that is the name he goes by." The leader of the Counsel sighs. "His true, given name remains unknown. Only one person knew it, his wife, and she is dead."

A love story, I think. I don't remember reading about that. How sad.

"He carries the weight of many on his shoulders," the leader says. "He outlives his friends, and has no family. Sometimes he brings people with him time-traveling, but their ends are usually tragic. We looked at his Past." I remember: the Counsel keeps records of everybody, everywhere, in a database simply called The Pasts. It holds an orb, and holding that orb makes us share the emotions of the one whose Past it is.

"When I touched the his Past I was unable to recover for several days," the woman admits.

I shiver. This man… he must be very broken, and scared, and alone. I try not to touch people because I feel everything about them; sometimes just being around hurt or anger makes me sick. How can I do this…?

I have to do this. It is my job, not to mention my only option. Treason means death for our kind. I have to do it for Electra… I have to keep her safe.

"Where does he live?" I ask.

"He has no home," the first woman says. "He has a stolen time machine, a vehicle called a Time and Relative Dimensions in Space, and he roams over all of space and time."

How sad, not to have a home. Though, I think, pretty soon Electra and I won't have a home either.

"You are certain you will be able to send us there?" I'm not quite convinced.

The woman bristles. "Do not question our abilities, child. We can track his ship, and we locked onto it several hours ago."

Nobody talks about what happens after you leave. All Aracelia told me is: follow them everywhere, and touch them once. Once you have touched, you are bonded. Free them of their pain, sorrow, all emotions. Leave them empty, so they can fill again, and then do it again. Do not fail at this, Anima, or we are all doomed. She's just out to save her own skin. If I revolt, she dies too.

"Power on," the man orders. I hear a humming that resonates through the soles of my bare feet. I look down and see that Electra and I are standing on a power plate, which is a method of remote teleportation.

"Is that all?" I am suddenly daring. "No goodbyes? No well-wishes?"

The woman sneers at me. "There are no well-wishes for the dead, and you, my dear, are as good as that."

Everything goes white, then black, then nothing at all. Electra's hand slips away, and as it does, so does my consciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing I hear is a wheezing noise, then what sounds like groaning. I wonder what it is, dimly, as bright light flashes in front of my eyes.

There comes a Voice. Capital V. _In my head. Wake, child. Wake._

 _Who are you? Why do I remember this happening? What are you?_

 _Patience, Young One. You have a Purpose here._

 _What is my purpose?_

 _Follow this life. You are a Fixer, Child. Fix._

Another voice this time, lowercase V. "How the bloody hell did they get here?!" A man. I hear annoyance, frustration, confusion, and an underlying tone of sadness that seems very, very old. I can assume just from these eight words that this man is the Doctor.

"How could I know that?" A woman's voice, with a tone of teasing annoyance behind it. I feel a deep sense of sadness and an unconditional love so strong my eyes open.

There is a very bright light in my face. I don't look away, though. The eyes of a Gǎnjué Yīqiè are conditioned for the radiance of our double suns. I blink a few times before raising a hand to push the light away. My hand touches the woman's hand, and I feel her, slightly startled, a little bit concerned, and still the sadness and affection. Immediately, I feel the familiar tug of transfer, and feel her emotions even stronger.

The woman gasps softly and drops the light, which I see is actually a small flashlight, origin Earth. The Doctor comes up behind her and almost trips over her as she scrambles back.

"What is it? What happened?" There is concern in the Doctor's voice now, a different shade than the woman's for me and Electra. I put aside the different shades to think about later, considering that I don't know much about deepest emotion.

Electra, I remember. I look to my left, then right, then see her lying on the floor a few feet away from me. I crawl over and feel her delicate face, took one of her small hands. I felt her sense me, and her eyes blinked open.

I smile. _Sister._

She smiles back, face glowing. _Sister._

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt." The Doctor's voice sounded level and calm, but it disguised a fierce sort of protectiveness towards the woman. I begin to wonder who this woman is to him… Behind the protectiveness is also a curiosity, a longing for knowledge that seems all-consuming.

He said something, I remember. He probably expected me to respond.

I turn towards him, mostly so I can see his face. His hair is brown and styled partially over one eye, and he's dressed in a snappy suit and a bowtie. How strange. We usually dress very simply on my planet. I feel a pang of sadness. My former planet, that is.

"Hello?" He waves one hand in front of my eyes. I do not waver in my stare. "Anyone home?"

"Not anymore," I say softly.

I feel his slight confusion, but it is quickly overrun by curiosity and that same protectiveness. "Who are you, and how did you get on my TARDIS?"

"I am a Gǎnjué Yīqiè," I say. "Who are you?"

He studies me for a short moment. "You don't know me?"

"No, I do know you," I reply.

Confusion and curiosity again. "Then why did you ask?"

"I was being polite." Obviously.

He gives a short laugh, but there is no humor behind it, only slight amusement balanced out by a feeling of unsettlement.

I cock my head in the universal symbol of inquisitiveness. "Do I frighten you?"

His eyes widen a fraction, and I know I've thrown him off. Or rather, I feel it.

"Doctor?" There is fear in the woman's voice, but not enough for anyone else to notice. I hope I didn't scare her too much.

Electra is sitting up now, and I touch her arm. _We're here. On the TARDIS. We made it._

Electra feels very happy, and we share it. _I'm glad! I'm so glad!_

"Yes, River, one mo'!" The Doctor turns back to us. "I'll be back." He stands in a swift motion (he had gotten to his knees to be on our level) and goes over to the woman. River. I can feel her anxiety from all the way over where we are.

My hand tightens around Electra's. _I think we scared them._

 _I hope not!_ Electra sighs, a little bit sad. _I do want them to like us._

 _I wonder who the woman is. Her name is River._

 _I was wondering that too! She seems sad…_ Electra also senses emotion (it's not like she's without power!), just on a smaller scale than me.

 _Well, so does he. He seems very old somehow, though he doesn't look it._

 _Hmm…_ Electra thinks hard.

 _Maybe it has something to do with him being "the last of his kind."_ We relieve the memory of the conversation in the Counsel-room together. _Maybe he's special somehow._

 _I'm sure he is, otherwise we wouldn't have been sent._

 _Look at them,_ I think suddenly, my eyes drifting over. _Look at the way they feel and talk._

 _I think they're in love,_ Electra says after a minute of watching.

 _River, she feels love very deeply,_ I explain. _He feels love, but it's not the same. It's… different, somehow._

 _How can you tell that? That doesn't make sense._

 _I don't know, and you're right_. I watch, and River is leaning close to the Doctor, as he leans away slightly. I feel her momentary sadness at his rejection, and I feel his discomfort. How strange.

The Doctor comes back. River stays away, leaning slightly on the console. Her feelings of angst seem to stretch across the room. I flinch as I feel them. It's like a headache, but I feel it deep in my chest. Against my will, I start drawing it in…

The Doctor is just opening his mouth to speak when I see River feel it. Her pain and sadness, just slipping out. She sighs, and her knees give out. It must be a large amount of pain I'm taking, I think, detachedly. People I've practiced on always sigh, but never fall. I feel bad for her, glad I'm taking her pain.

The Doctor spins and runs to her, and I start to absorb his anxiety as well.

"River," he says, gentle as I've seen.

"Doctor," she whispers. Her eyes are unfocused.

I try to stop myself, to stem the flow of emotion, but it's started and I can't stop it. My chest feels uncomfortably tight, and my eyes tear up.

"Electra, my hand," I whimper.

She clasps my hand in hers, and I break my connection to River. I see her tense again.

The Doctor whirls on us, as I knew he would.

"What are you?" Accusation and anger.

"I didn't mean to," I say miserably.

"Mean to what?"

"I…" I let go of Electra's hand and stand up. I look around the room, trying to think of the words. "Have you ever heard of the Gǎnjué Yīqiè, Doctor?"

"...no." He is ashamed, somehow… of not knowing.

"Don't feel bad, Doctor. Not many know of us." I peek around his shoulder at River. "Is she alright? It's overwhelming at first, especially if…" I stop, trying to find the words. I'm muddled from taking in all that pain… and there was so much!

"If?" he demands.

I force myself to concentrate on him. "If the feelings are strong, very deep-rooted," I finish.

"What do you do? How?" He is not angry now, but overwhelmed by curiosity. I marvel at his mood swings.

"Well, it's hard to explain," I say.

"Explain!" Pause. "Please."

"I just… I can feel what you feel. I can just sense it, from presence and body language, but mostly from touches and words. And sometimes I just… take it. I just take it all away."

"You took her emotions?" He's bewildered, and scared for her. "Can't she feel now?"

"No, no, you misunderstand," I say. "I don't take away her capacity to feel. I simply remove old hurts and wounds and leave them empty."

"Will she still… remember? The memories, the ones you… took."

"Yes, of course. I don't take memories, only feelings. She'll feel them, but without the emotions."

The Doctor is thinking hard. His emotions are a little mixed up. "Do you know what I'm feeling right now?"

"Not completely," I say. "If I touch you, I can feel all of it." I pause. "Do you want me to touch you?"

"Do you need to?" He is apprehensive.

"Yes."

There is a fear in his eyes that is deeper than the ocean. He doesn't want me to see all of his emotions. He feels too naked, exposed.

"Do it."

I look at Electra, who is on her feet. "Pull me back if things go bad."

Electra nods. The mood is solemn.

River is standing again, and there is fire in her eyes. "You're just going to let this child do… whatever it is she does?!"

The Doctor is looking at me, searching for something I don't know. "If she does this, I can know if she's being truthful or not."

River's face is flushed. She feels ashamed for her weakness and scared for him. The distrust branded deep in her is frightening to me. She doesn't trust anyone, or anything, even the Doctor.

"I'm telling the truth," I insist.

The Doctor takes a deep breath. "After… this. Will you tell me your story? Please."

"I promise," I say. "I just need your trust."

He doesn't reply, but offers me his hand. I shiver at what I know is coming, and reach out to grasp it-

-assailed by memories of all shapes and sizes and colors-

 _\- "River…" -_

-I feel sadness everywhere, all the pain and terror and madness-

 _\- "-lived too long-" -_

-Golden light and screaming, screaming everywhere-

-but there is love, kindness, and I feel that too-

 _\- "so much darker, and so much better-" -_

-seen everything, birth and death and hate and-

-I start taking it in, my chest bursting-

 _\- "my fault, all my fault" -_

-I don't even know where I am-

-who I am-

 _\- "DOCTOR!" -_

-a hand pulling me back, _Anima, snap out of it!_ -

 _\- "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry-" -_

I barely feel it, but my body is spasming. I feel wetness on my face. I'm crying, failing to hold back a wail of pain-

And there is nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

Electra's POV

* * *

It's scary. It's so scary! Anima, she's always there and strong and keeping me safe and laughing and happy! And just my sister! Always…

Almost always. I don't think hard about it. Too strange.

And now I'm alone, with these strangers. Anima is in a room out of the big room we landed in, and I'm sitting alone, rocking rocking rocking. Anima, please wake up… I felt her pain. It was awful, so awful. The man, the Doctor, he hid his emotions well. And she yanked them out like live wires, and sparked them together to see what they would do. They exploded.

She cried so hard.

The woman, River, is here. "Your sister is going to be fine." She has a nice voice, but I can tell she doesn't trust me. It's not any emotion I can feel; it's all in her eyes.

"I know," I say. Because I do. But that doesn't make it less scary.

"I need to ask you some questions." She doesn't trust me. Or Anima. She's always so scared… but what of?

"Why are you scared of us?"

She notes my question but doesn't answer. "How did you get on the TARDIS?"

I'm not gullible. I'm not as smart as Anima, but I'm no dummy. "How about this? I'll answer a question if you answer one too."

Her face is impassive. "Done. How did you get on the TARDIS?"

"The Counsel sent us," I said. I knew I could be bratty and stop there, but she didn't look like she was in a good mood. "The woman said she locked onto your ship and just… sent us."

She nodded. "I expected you wouldn't know. Would your sister?"

"I don't know…" I pause. "Now it's my turn." This is tricky territory now, so I know I have to be careful about what I ask. I can see she is wary of me.

"Is River your real name?" Seems safe enough.

"My full name is River Song." I can see it's an okay question. "But my original name is Melody Pond."

"Why did you change it?"

She smiles, with real kindness. "My turn again."

"Okay."

"What are the… Gǎnjué Yīqiè?"

"You've never heard of us? Well, there aren't many of us left…" I try and remember what Anima told me from her history. "During this big war, a whole side of our planet was destroyed by a meteorite."

"Your planet is Litost?" I know that River has heard of the planet from the disturbed look on her face…

"Yes. How did you know?"

"It… we always thought you were a casualty. We never knew that any of your kind survived!" She is thinking thinking thinking, very hard.

"Anima told me that a lot about that time, when our Granma was alive. All the gravity and air went funny, and a lot of people died. We got knocked into a new orbit, though."

"How many of you are left?" She is pacing. Very troubled.

"Right now, there are about twenty thousand of us in all. I think," I add after a moment of pondering.

Without another word, River rushes out of the room. I don't follow. I feel a little better about Anima, so I stand up and go over to the center of the room. There is a big, circular set of controls. I touch a lever lightly, and the room hums around me, vibrating the floor.

"Hello." My hand travels from the lever to a series of buttons, tracing patterns between them. "My name is Electra. Who are you?"

Into my head comes a picture of a woman. She's pretty. Idris, was the word with her.

"Is that your name? Idris?"

Another hum. I can't really figure out how to talk to her… because she's a her. I feel like she can understand me but I can't quite understand her.

"Nice to meet you. Sorry that me and Anima burst on into you. We didn't really mean to."

The controls vibrate with a noise almost like purring. It tickles. It makes me giggle.

"Ahem." Upon hearing the sound, I know it's the Doctor, trying to get my attention.

"Hello." I don't turn. "Would you like to join me? I was just talking to Idris."

"How do you - oh." He moves closer. "Well, Old Girl?"

The TARDIS hums with approval.

"I think she likes me!" I turn to the Doctor, smile fading. "Is Anima okay?"

"Yes, she… well, I… I don't think she's going to… wake up, for a while." I can hear his guilt.

"It's not your fault that you've seen horrible things," I say frankly. "You don't have to apologize. I should have pulled her back sooner."

"It's not-" The Doctor starts but I don't let him finish.

"Let's not dwell on the past," I quote Anima. She always said that to Aracelia when she was bored during history. And during all her other lessons, too! Only the eldest sibling is given lessons in our culture. I always thought that was unfair, so Anima would share what she learned every night when we laid in our shared bed…

"Hello?" The Doctor looks at me expectantly.

"Oh, sorry. I just… get lost, sometimes." I vaguely gesture, but he seems to know what I mean because he laughs a little.

"Us with our big brains, easy to get lost in!" He suddenly sobers. "River says that you two are Litostians."

"Yes…"

"Did you know which war your planet was lost in?"

"We weren't lost, though," I say. "Just moved."

"You were considered a casualty," the Doctor said carefully. "We thought you had all perished."

"Who is we?"

"Me, I mean… I thought that all of you had died… in the earliest days of the Time War."


	4. Chapter 4

I wake up to find light leaking from my hands.

I mutter the only swear I knew and leap from the bed I had been placed on. _I need to find the doors to the ship, before things get dicey. I don't want to release all my energy inside… who knows what would happen._

I bolt from the room and towards Electra, who I can sense up ahead. It'd always been like that for us. I take the stairs two at a time, barely registering the Doctor and River as I tore past them. I see the doors and ran for them, a pressure building behind my ribs. I feel about ready to explode…!

I shove the doors open and let the light free. My back arches slightly as the light arcs out of my chest and hands. Luckily, we are floating in space, and the brilliant blaze shoots off into the dark. I note, with interest, that it was many colors, but mostly gold. The times before, when I released energy from animals or people, the light was silver.

Electra engulfs me in a big hug as I turn around. I squeeze her back tightly, looking over her shoulder at the mystified duo.

 _Time to talk,_ I think to Electra.

 _Talking is boring…_

 _I'll do most of it, okay?_

 _I wish we could just show them._

I laugh lightly.

"Mind including us in your conversation?" River snaps, frost in her voice and gaze. The Doctor is wondering what she was talking about, based on the confusion radiating from him.

"You're very quick for somebody without telepathy." I break away from Electra and take a seat, preparing myself for the questions.

"What do you want to know?"

"Well, what was that?!" The Doctor is thinking, but can come up with no explanations.

"I took in your pain," I say. "And that is how I let go of it." Electra wanders off into the TARDIS's hallways. River leans up against the console, trying for a casual stance though I could see that I still unsettle her. The Doctor paces.

"You can just make yourself release?" River sounds like she is accusing me of lying. "Is it energy, or a power?"

"No, I can only release when I have too much stored up. Otherwise, it's erratic. And yes, it is energy, in a way."

I can feel the frantic energy from the Doctor, he just needed to know, he had to, it killed him slowly when he didn't know things. "See, River, you asked a lot of questions before, but they weren't the right ones…" He seems to snap back to life, arms moving expressively to hide his unease. "Anima, the how was answered by your sister. I have a better question."

I feel a flare of annoyance from River, but her face doesn't change.

"Better is a relative term, Doctor."

He doesn't miss a beat. "The question, Anima, is why."

"Why were we sent here, you mean?" I'm being dodgy on purpose, now.

"Yes."

Well, here we go. "You understand how we function, don't you?"

"Not really," he admits.

"I thought you were familiar with my planet?"

"I am! Or at least, I thought I was… I was telling Electra, that we thought you had all died in the Time War."

"My grandmother was alive during that time. There are stories passed along… well, more on that later." I felt a wave of impatience come from him and knew I had to move on. Enough beating about the bush…

"The Counsel sends the children of our kind to relieve the pain of the universe," I say. "I was under the impression that the Counsel thinks that you are the saddest, loneliest being in existence."

The Doctor blinks. "Oh. Well. I…"

River is still not satisfied. "But why now?"

"Now?" I'm confused.

"If your Counsel can lock onto the TARDIS, then surely they know of the space-time concept. They must have chosen a very specific time to send you. Why now?"

She's right, I realize. The Counsel always makes calculated moves. "I don't know."

River throws up her hands and stalks past the Doctor, frustration leaving a trail behind her, hanging in the air.

"Give her some time," the Doctor says finally. "She'll come around."

"You understand, then." It is a statement but I do want to know.

"Yes, I understand… I think." He runs a hand through his hair and sighs heavily. "I felt what you do… it's not malevolent. But I don't know if I…"

"If you what?"

"My emotions… I don't know if I want them to be, you know, taken away." He's very awkward at this point.

I don't understand. "I don't understand…"

"I suppose that's what I get from getting all humany-wumany." He's a bit wistful now. "Guess I'm a bit more human than a Time Lord's supposed to be."

"I don't know a lot about humans," I admit. "Just funny random things from my lessons."

"Is that how you know me?" the Doctor asks. "From your lessons?"

"Well, yes, and the Counsel too."

"But that's not possible!"

"Why?"

"I…" He mutters softly (but I can hear): "...erased myself."

"I don't think you could erase all of yourself, not really," I say.

"Apparently not…"

I cock my head. "What were you saying about humans?"

"Humans are… complicated," the Doctor says slowly. "They basically run on emotion, which is sometimes good and sometimes bad. And… they'll do anything for love."

"Would you?"

"Would I what?"

"Do anything for love?"

"I… that's…" He's blushing furiously. I don't need empathic powers to read him.

Suddenly, puzzle pieces fit together in my head. "River Song. She's your wife, isn't she."

"I… how did you…?" But I'm racing ahead.

"So that means she knows your name and she-" I abruptly stop, remembering the conversation with the Counsel.

"Anima!" the Doctor shouts. I jump.

"Sorry, I… well, nothing, really." I reach for an explanation as fast as I can. "The Counsel told me a bit about her and-"

A memory flashes from the Doctor, so strong that I reach out and-

-touch it.

 _"Professor River Song. Archaeologist."_ A firm handshake. Confusion.

-flash-

 _"Count the shadows. It's the Vashta Nerada, the silent hunters-"_

 _"AWAY FROM THAT SHADOW."_

-flash-

running running running, Donna Noble and the TARDIS and the bare bones of the dead-

-flash-

And River, wearing a crown of thorns, about to die in his stead.

 _"You and me, time and space… you watch us run!"_

 _"River… you told me my name."_

-flash-

 _"You whispered my name in my ear... there's only one time I would ever tell anyone my name. There's only one time I could…!"_

-flash-

A lone tear. _"Hush, now… spoilers."_

-FLASH-

I'm back again, and barely any time seems to have passed. The Doctor is staring at me. "You saw that?"

"Sorry," I sigh.

"No, it's better to show you than… tell you aloud."

"It must be awful."

"What?"

"Not saying anything. The spoilers. Just… the few days you have, is all. It's not fair."

"Not fair," he echoes. "But then, since when has the universe ever been fair?"


	5. Chapter 5

We spend months with the Doctor. I awake one morning to a Voice inside my head.

 _Pay attention,_ the Voice says. _Today is important._

 _Thanks for the heads-up_ , I say, without sarcasm. (Okay, maybe a small amount of sarcasm.)

"Strax invited us to his home planet!" The Doctor's prancing about the controls, River watching him with amusement. She comes and goes, but has tried to stay longer lately… she's gotten close to Electra. And, with a pang of sadness, I realize that maybe River's like a mother to her. The mother I tried to be but couldn't manage to be.

I shake off the glum and smile at the Doctor. "Who's Strax?"

"Oh, you'll meet him someday." The Doctor flips a knob, and River reaches out and flips it back, mouthing "lunatic" to Electra and me. We giggle.

The Doctor looks perplexed for a moment, but continues. "His species throws a gigantic party each year, and we're his guests. It's wonderful: music, fights to the death… and so many hats!"

Us three girls sigh in unison.

"Okay, fine, we won't go do hats, then." The Doctor huffs and lands the TARDIS. "Well, come on, then!" He opens the door-

"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"

"Holy-" River exclaims.

The Doctor slams the door shut. "Um, well, no, then. Let's not-"

We all trip and fall as the TARDIS pitches to one side. Electra grasps a handle. "We're… the Daleks got us in a tractor beam!"

The Doctor staggers upright, hauling River to her feet. "How do you-"

"She's telling me!" Electra's eyebrows furrow. "They're bringing us to their mothership."

"Damn, damn, damn!" The Doctor runs to the control panel, frantically checking displays and flipping switches.

"Language!" River says, moving to work alongside him.

Despite their greatest efforts, we feel the thunk as we hit the inside of the Dalek ship.

"What's a Dalek?" I ask the Doctor.

River answers for him. "Lethal garbage cans with death rays."

The Doctor looks like he's about to object, then shrugs. "Basically, yes. That."

Then the TARDIS tips over.


	6. Epilogue

_Well, that was anticlimactic._

We're floating, watching the Dalek ship drift about… in pieces.

 _Yes, it really was,_ my Sister laments. _Poor Doctor. Poor River._

 _I wish we'd been able to say goodbye,_ I said, watching the TARDIS spin away into space.

 _You have done what you set out to do,_ says the Voice. _By using all of your emotional energy, you saved them. You saved the TARDIS from corrupting and you killed the Daleks._

 _Let's not forget that we also used up our life energy as well,_ I reminded the Voice.

 _Worry not, Fixers. This is one of the most unstable universes of them all. I'm sure you'll return here someday._

 _It just was all so… quick._ My Sister is saddened. _Like a blink, or a breath._

 _That is the nature of time,_ the Voice says. _It moves faster than you can imagine. But you Two… you have done well. This Universe is stable for now._

 _I wish we could have stayed longer,_ my Sister says.

 _Do not wish for what you cannot have._

And the Voice firmly pulls us back, into infinity, and we forget.


End file.
